Empower Your Brain: How toThink for Yourself

Do you think for yourself? 

In these times of fast media and the ever-present Internet, we are under so many external influences that it can be challenging to know when we are thinking for ourselves. You must be discerning and aware to know when your thinking is not your own. 

Not that all outside influence is bad or detrimental to forming your own views, but being unable to think for yourself can make you miserable at best or a puppet of someone else's programming at worst. 

Admittedly, we are all born into societies or cultures where the norms and customs are already established. For the most part, we have little choice but to conform to what is already in place. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it can be confining and controlling if we accept everything unquestioningly and never question the status quo. 

Does this mean all of your ideas can be original and unlike everyone else's? 

Not at all! 

Nor does it require being contrary and argumentative just to be defiant or stand out. Thinking for yourself means that your opinions will be well thought out and come from a position of thorough investigation and thoughtful analysis. It means choosing not to compromise the facts for the sake of consensus or fitting in. It is not unlike critical thinking - it just encompasses a broader scope of choices and decision-making in your life.

For example, how many of us feel the need to keep up with 'the latest'? We wear clothes, listen to music, and follow trends that the media tells us we should follow in order to be cool. 

Marketing companies create ads that hypnotize us into a herd mentality as we fall into debt, wear unbecoming fashions, and get caught up in a cycle of overspending and overconsuming and then stressing over it. Before we realize it, we live lives designed for us by the powers that be without our conscious participation. 

Another trap we fall into when we don't think for ourselves is groupthink. Irving Janis coined the term in 1972. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people who try to avoid conflict and reach agreement without critically evaluating options or alternative ideas. 

The problem with groupthink is that it hinders finding the best solutions, impedes creative ideas, and thwarts independent thinking. Wanting to be part of the crowd can certainly have its drawbacks!

So, how can you cultivate the ability to think for yourself? 

Tips on how to think for yourself:

⮞ Develop a strong sense of self. Know who you are, what you want, and what is best for you. Do not let others, especially marketing companies and the media, tell you how you should look, feel and act. Do what is best for you. Cultivate your tastes and enjoy your preferences. 

⮞ Be well-informed. Gather as much information about a subject as possible before forming an opinion. Build your mental resources by reading, observing, and listening for yourself. Then, take time to reflect and evaluate. 

⮞ Be flexible. Look for solutions and outcomes from as many perspectives as possible. Determine the pros and cons. Are there other possibilities? Who might it harm/benefit? What are the potential consequences? 

⮞ Identify biases. Are you unduly influenced by your culture, upbringing, or other people's opinions? Are you being fair and open-minded? We often make poor decisions because we begin with the wrong premise. We can arrive at a more appropriate and practical conclusion if we take the time to evaluate and judge based on what we observe firsthand rather than what we've been led to believe. 

⮞ Do not buckle under pressure, fear, or guilt. Have the courage to stand up for what you believe and have deduced yourself. If you go along with the crowd to keep peace, avoid confrontation, or fear of failure, you do everyone a disservice, especially yourself.

You may have a brilliant idea, or it may be the right thing to do. If no one hears about it, a healthy discussion cannot occur, and all possibilities will not be considered. A good idea has the potential to evolve into a better one with input from a variety of sources.

The Benefits of thinking for yourself: 

• You develop self-confidence and trust in your abilities 

• You attain a greater sense of accomplishment

• You expand your mind and boost your brain power

• You gain respect from others by standing up for what you believe in and by being original

• You are more aware and alert to what the media is trying to sell you

• You are more open to self-improvement and alternative viewpoints

• You are more interesting to others by expanding their thinking and options 

You are NOT thinking for yourself when:

✓ You let others, the media, or convention sway you from doing what's right for you.

✓ You buy into negative, one-dimensional stereotypes based on sex, race, or culture.

✓ You do something because it has always been done that way - even if it no longer works.

✓ You follow old wives' tales, superstitions, or fallacies that defy common sense. 

✓ You don't take time to think things through carefully and thoroughly.

As you may have already concluded, thinking for yourself is not easy. It requires deliberate, mindful, and, at times, courageous application. However, the personal rewards are endlessly gratifying.

In the words of John Stuart Mill: "Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think."